The actor revealed that his contract with Marvel was fulfilled and that he would return as Tony Stark in the ensemble piece. However, his return for "Iron Man 4" is still up in the air. According to The Hollywood Reporter "Iron Man 4" was not part of the discussions and it was not clear whether Downey was even interested in another installment in the franchise.

Insiders believe that while Marvel will save a lot of money by replacing Downey, they also believe that future "Iron Man" films will not be nearly as successful without the actor.

Downey Jr.'s return is no surprise as he was paid $50 million for his work on "The Avengers." However problems have already arisen as not all the actors were paid the same sum as Downey Jr. It was reported that Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, and Mark Ruffalo only received $500,000 after the film made over $1 billion worldwide. Marvel is said to be very stingy and has already threatened Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Evans to recast. The studio has previously recast Edward Norton and Terrence Howard after they had fallouts with the company.

"Iron Man 3" obtained the second highest opening of all time in the US and has already made over $700 million since opening.

Aside from "Iron Man," Downey Jr. has starred in "Sherlock Holmes," "Due Date," and "The Soloist." He was nominated for an Academy Award for "Tropic Thunder" and will next star in "The Judge."

Joss Whedon is currently writing the second Avengers and will also direct. The director recently revealed that Marvel is very stingy. He stated "There's the element of the opportunity here for something that is both popular and very human, and usually you have to choose as an actor."